Hundertwasser Toilet Windows. Kawakawa. Northland. New Zealand.
S 35° 22.803 E 174° 04.012
60H E 233551 N 6080858
After living in Kawakawa for 25 years, Frederick Hundertwasser's gift to the town was a designer public toilet. This quirky building is a famous work of art using filtered light through colourful glass bottles as the windows.
Waymark Code: WM6FM7
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 05/26/2009
Views: 24
In 1998 the Kawakawa Community Board was looking to upgrade 40-year-old toilet facilities in the central township, and Hundertwasser offered a solution from his design palate. His concept was adopted with the artist personally lending a hand in construction supervision, including the provision of materials from his own studio. Hundertwasser was in fact more involved in construction than he was in the world-renown Hundertwasser House apartments project in Vienna.
The finished product is a work of art, from the grass roof, to gold balls, ceramic tiles, bottle glass windows, mosaic tiling, copper handwork, cobblestone flooring, individual sculptures and a living tree integrated into the design structure.
Hundertwasser could never have dreamed of the impact he was going to have on a small, rural community when he made New Zealand his second home 25 years ago. From a sleepy hollow just off the tourist track through the Bay of Islands, the Kawakawa township has burgeoned into a "must see" mecca for Hundertwasser devotees worldwide.
With the untimely death of the Austrian-born artist in February 2000, the building is the only Hundertwasser structure in the Southern Hemisphere, and the last major project ever undertaken by the famous artist and designer. It will remain as both a memorial to Frederick Hundertwasser and a very functional building for the community and visitors alike.
More Information Click here and also Click Here. This interesting building is situated in the main street of Kawakawa, beside the pedestrian crossing, you can't miss it!
The Gaudi styled project has seen the town façade change as businesses adopt Hundertwasser styles, and has significantly boosted the town’s economy due to an increase of tourists. The toilets were awarded the prestigious Golden Plunger award - a world wide search for the best public toilets as voted by the traveling public.